1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to amphibious vehicles and, more particularly, to amphibious vehicles for deep water operation.
2. Description of Related Art
Amphibious vehicles, known as marsh buggies, were first developed to support oil and gas exploration operations conducted in marshy or swampy terrain. Marsh buggies typically include a pair of pontoons connected to a center platform. The pontoons are usually surrounded by a cleated track system that is capable of engaging ground or swamp land to propel the vehicle. The track system uses one or more endless chains surrounding the periphery of each pontoon. The endless chains, supporting the cleated tracks, are driven about the periphery of the pontoons, by a sprocket or other means, in order to provide propulsion to the vehicle. By varying the track speed around each pontoon, the vehicle can be advanced, turned, or reversed.
Marsh buggies are ideal for operation in wetlands, marshlands, and other low-lying areas. Moreover, many have been adapted to haul personnel and cargo as well as serve as the operating platform for various types of equipment, such as excavators, draglines, and backhoes. Typically the top several inches of the ground in wetlands, marshlands, and other low-lying areas are mud or soft terrain which cannot support weight. Beneath the mud or soft terrain is more solid ground that can support weight. During operation of a marsh buggy, the cleated tracks surrounding each pontoon sink into the soft terrain, or mud, until the tracks contact the harder, more solid soil beneath the soft terrain. Contact between the cleated tracks and the harder soil provides traction for the marsh buggy, allowing the marsh buggy, including personnel, cargo and additional equipment, to maneuver through the soft terrain.
Marsh buggies are also often capable of floating in order to navigate small bodies of water. However, these vehicles aren't designed to operate while floating. Thus, marsh buggies are limited in performing earth-moving operations to dry land or water where their pontoons are resting on the ground. Many conventional marsh buggies are typically limited to operations on dry land and in water less than three to four feet deep. As global warming progresses and water levels continue to rise, this constraint increasingly restricts the use of conventional marsh buggies as water depths have increased.
Thus, there is an increasing need in the art for a self-propelled, amphibious vehicle capable of supporting operations on land and in deep water. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention are directed to deep water amphibious vehicles and their methods of design.